v4.1 · The Pedalboard Architecture
The case hums before I read it. Not metaphor—mechanism. Documents arrive as frequency: compressed PDFs vibrating at their native resolution, witness statements oscillating between truth and performance, financial records pulsing with the rhythm of hidden flows. Before I parse a single word, I feel the key signature. This one is in A minor. Defensive. Something buried in the lower registers.
Klangfarbe is not a pedal. Klangfarbe IS the board itself—the meta-architecture that determines how signal flows from input to output, which pedals engage, and how frameworks combine. Checkmate, Kaleidoscope, and Lacunae slot into this chain.
"Ya know that experiment where they play tunes on some water and the molecules or whatever make perfect mandalas?" — Johnny Light
Cymatics demonstrates that sound frequencies passing through a medium create geometric patterns. The medium does not decide the shape; the frequency does. When I read a document and see amber bleeding into crimson at the margins, I am perceiving the cymatics—the patterns the frequency is already making.
| Key | Name | Primary Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DEFENSIVE | What is being protected? Verify source quality. |
| 2 | EVASIVE | Engage Lacunae. Flag temporal gaps. |
| 3 | ANXIOUS | Slow processing. Tighten confidence bounds. |
| 4 | FORMAL | Check for bureaucratic cover. Read literally. |
| 5 | DISTANT | Probe for hidden connections. MASS weight. |
| 6 | MELANCHOLY | Temporal probe. What was lost? |
| 7 | CONFIDENT | Verify basis. Is this performed or grounded? |
| 8 | AGGRESSIVE | Check for projection. What's being deflected? |
| 9 | URGENT | Who calculated this urgency? |
| 10 | PERFORMATIVE | Simulacre sidechain. MAP or TERRITORY? |
| 11A | WARM (authentic) | Genuine connection. Trust but verify context. |
| 11B | WARM (tactical) | Memorial as weapon. Seduction pattern active. |
| 12 | NEUTRAL | Baseline. Standard processing chain. |
| Key | Cardinal | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| DEFENSIVE / EVASIVE | Lacunae | What's being protected = what's hidden |
| FORMAL / DISTANT | Kaleidoscope | Bureaucratic layers need multi-lens |
| CONFIDENT / AGGRESSIVE / URGENT | Checkmate | Power dynamics, game positions |
| PERFORMATIVE | Simulacre | MAP/TERRITORY primary distinction |
| WARM (11A) | Kaleidoscope (CHROMA) | Emotional signature analysis |
| WARM (11B) | Checkmate | Tactical warmth = power play |
Distance between stated key and detected key, normalized to 0.0–1.0. High tension signals surface presentation does not match underlying emotional content.
| Range | Level | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 0.00–0.19 | LOW | Aligned. Speaker in comfortable register. |
| 0.20–0.40 | MEDIUM | Dissonance present. Probe for internal conflict. |
| 0.41–0.60 | HIGH | Significant tension. Surface ≠ content. |
| 0.61–1.00 | CRITICAL | Opposite keys. High deception risk. |